Hands on: Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX531 review

Two steps forward, one step back

Our Early Verdict

The Asus ROG Zephyrus S looks to be better built and smaller than its predecessor in every way, but we’re uncertain about the sacrifices it has made to get here.

For

15-inch gaming laptop in a 14-inch shell

Sturdier overall build quality

Lightest, thinnest gaming laptop in its class

Against

Graphics max out with Nvidia GTX 1070 Max-Q

Battery size and capacity hasn’t increased

The Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX531 wants to be the thinnest, lightest and most silent Nvidia Max-Q laptop out there. Thanks to narrow screen bezels, a thin chassis and a durable build, this gaming laptop may have succeeded the Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501 in basically every way, while fixing so many problems we had with the original.

Price and availability

Coming in two varieties in the US – just one in the UK, though – we got our hands on the more expensive and powerful GX531GS version of the Asus ROG Zephyrus S equipped with a Nvidia GTX 1070 Max-Q graphics card. The version we used will only be available at Amazon for $2,199 (about £1,730, AU$3,030). At this price, the Asus ROG Zephyrus is impressively equipped with an Intel Core i7-8750H CPU, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of NVMe SSD and a Full HD 144Hz display.

Outside of Amazon, Asus will be selling a lower-tier GX531GM version equipped with a Nvidia GTX 1060, but still the same processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB NVMe SSD for $2,099 or £1,999 (about AU$2,890). This will be the only model available in the UK.

These price points make enough sense, and we expect some Black Friday and Cyber Mondaylaptop deals to bring the price even lower. And, if you’re looking to get your hands on this laptop, good news – it’s on store shelves right now.

You can get a similar Razer Blade for $2,599 (£2,329, AU$3,999) with all the same specs, except for a 512GB SSD. The $1,999 (£1,799, AU$3,339) MSI GS65 Stealth also has comparable specs, with an additional 1TB hard drive to be the most affordable, thin gaming laptop.

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Design

The original Asus ROG Zephyrus impressed us with how thin and light a gaming laptop could be with basically no compromises. And, the Zephyrus S is even more impressive. By diminishing the screen bezels and making it thinner than ever before, this machine is now a 15-inch gaming laptop in a 14-inch body on the same level as the Dell XPS 15 and the Gigabyte Aero 15 X.

Surrounding the screen are noticeably thinner bezels that have been nearly cut in half. The 7.5mm bezels are a great improvement over the original Zephyrus’ 15.7mm bezels. Although the screen continues to sport a 15.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 Full HD panel running at 144Hz, this new display boasts a stunning 3ms response time.

Of course, the Zephyrus S isn’t just a smaller version of its predecessor, it’s also undergone some significant design changes.

The most obvious change is the slightly hinge forward design that gives the 15-inch laptop a bit of a rear lip when the screen is open – plus a silhouette that’s reminiscent of the Alienware 15. At the same time, the two little arms that connect the screen to the laptop are pretty similar to the cabinet-style hideaway hinges featured on the HP Spectre 13.

Call the Zephyrus S derivative if you want, but these new elements work well with its sharp and modern squared-off design. Even up against the suave MSI GS65 Stealth Thin, this is one of the most sophisticated-looking gaming laptops thanks to its futuristic styling and copper trimmed all-black exterior.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus S also has the unique Active Aerodynamic System, which basically opens up and lowers part of the laptop’s bottom to increase airflow. The mechanism still engages automatically as you open the screen lid as on the original Zephyrus, but now the gap is a little smaller at 5mm (opposed to 6mm). Asus claims this space allows for 22% better airflow than conventional designs.

Previously we complained that the AAS panel felt a little flimsy, and Asus has strengthened the design here as well. Rather than having the whole bottom side of the laptop drop down to create a ramp, the mechanism is restricted to about three-fifths of the notebook's total depth. Also, instead of a plastic panel, Asus has gone with making the bottom of its newest gaming laptop out of a much sturdier magnesium alloy.

Thanks to these improvements there’s barely any noticeable flex on the Zephyrus S bottom panel or practically anywhere.

Performance

During our short hands-on time with the Asus ROG Zephyrus, we didn’t get a chance to actually play with it beyond navigating around the Windows 10 interface. Asus also told us that its pre-production unit was not tuned for performance testing.

That said, we’re looking to get more time with the unit at Gamescom with our coverage beginning on August 20th, so stay tuned.

Given that this laptop is equipped with the same Intel Core i7-8750H CPU and Nvidia GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU as the Razer Blade, MSI GS65 Stealth Thin and countless other thin-and-light gaming laptops, we would expect performance to be on par.

Unfortunately, in the process of making the Zephyrus S as thin as it rivals, it can no longer support the Nvidia GTX 1080 Max-Q as a configurable graphics option. This pretty much leaves the Acer Predator Triton 7000 and Alienware 15 as your only options to get Nvidia’s most powerful and thinnest mobile GPU.

Asus developed new lower-profile blades and fan modules constructed out of a special liquid-crystal polymer that prevents flexing at high RPMs. According to the company, each fan blade only measures 0.2mm at its thickest point, and this is how it managed to increase the number of fan blades from 71 to 83.

We’re hoping all these fan blades will make the machine quieter under load than its previous iteration.

Asus didn’t mention anything about battery life, which is a little worrying. According to the specs, the Zephyrus S still makes use of a 4-cell 50WHr battery, which only saw the original Zephyrus through a maximum of two hours at best.

Early verdict

The Asus ROG Zephyrus S looks to be an overall better gaming laptop than its predecessor with smaller dimensions overall, a more responsive screen and better build quality. We’re fans of the design changes, and the addition of Intel Coffee Lake H-series processors also brings it up to date with all other thin-and-light gaming laptops.

Still, we’re not totally behind all of Asus’ decisions, especially limiting the laptop to Nvidia gTX 1070 Max-Q as the highest graphics option. We also have some concerns over battery life that could potentially only last for two hours again.

It’s too early to tell if the Asus ROG Zephyrus S will be one of the best gaming laptops, but we certainly can’t wait to play with it more at Gamescom and get our hands on a review unit soon.

What is a hands on review?

'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.